


Harbor

by hooksdarkswan



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 01:12:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6263623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hooksdarkswan/pseuds/hooksdarkswan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the days that follow Killian's death, Emma holds tight to what he left behind. A slightly different take on the end of "Swan Song." One-shot. Captain Swan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harbor

In one hand Emma held the ring he’d given her, smoothing the old metal between her fingertips. With the other, she touched the other gift Killian left behind.  

Emma braced the life she couldn’t yet see, the surge of light magic she could feel growing inside of her. All along she’d known about her—she was a girl, she was sure—but she never told him. It haunted her now, made her whole being ache. She wondered if it would have been enough, if knowing about their child could have pulled Killian back from the darkness that claimed him. Would he still be with her, then? Would he be holding her in his arms right now, reveling in the miracle they’d made together in the flower fields of Camelot?

He would have loved her, that much she did know. Emma nearly brought herself to smile as she thought about telling him, about the goofy grin that’d spread over his features, about the happiness that would dance in his eyes and make his confidence falter. Then, the pang in her belly reminded her that he was gone and she’d never know for sure how he would react.

 _But he would love you, Harbor,_ she told her in silence. Her name came to her so easily. Killian found his safety in the sea; it only made sense to name their baby after the sea’s safe place.

Emma closed her eyes and let the thoughts come over her, crashing like the waves he loved so dearly. She could see him still in the safety of her daydreams, the ones she clung to before sleep overtook her and the nightmares replaced them. He was there laughing, teasing, smirking that infuriatingly perfect smirk of his. Emma’s grip on the ring slowly slipped, and so did her mind further into her reverie.

Harbor, or at least the Harbor that bounded across Emma’s thoughts in a mud-covered dress, had a head full of dark hair. Her ebon curls defied the ribbons that held them in twintails, and her blue eyes—as deep as the ocean, as deep as _his_ —shone with ferocity. She wasn’t a princess, she was a warrior, she reminded her big brother as he scooped her up over his shoulder.

She fought and squirmed away from Henry, but her escape was short lived. Killian gathered her up in his arms, peppering kisses among the black of her waves. A happy expression replaced her frustrated one; a bucktoothed grin took up the space where a pouty scowl just had. He carried her to her mother and wrapped her them both in his embrace. Emma smiled and melted against his chest, into his arms. His lips brushed her cheek, then her ear, as he whispered the last words he’d ever uttered to her.  

_I love you…_

A familiar hiss drifted beyond Emma’s ears and barged into the sanctitude of her mind, robbing her of the fantasy. Her eyes snapped open and a rasping breath escaped her. She sat up, panicked, clutching the ring in her hand and both arms around her belly.

The noise grew louder still, a chorus of whispers that came all around her. She’d heard it just once before, but never would she forget that sound. It was Excalibur calling to her, _screaming_ for her. But how could it? She’d seen the blade and all of its darkness destroyed, felt it crumble in her hands as Killian drew his last breath. If Emma was hearing it now, it could only mean...

_I’m coming for you, Killian,_ she promised, holding his ring against her belly, where Harbor grew.  _We’re coming for you._


End file.
